


Facade

by SnowyWaffles



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Daddy!Jim, F/M, Jeromes such a nice guy until he isnt, Murder, Smut, Unfortunate Circumstances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2018-12-24 16:10:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12016329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyWaffles/pseuds/SnowyWaffles
Summary: The circus is in town and you think you've found the perfect guy. But things take an unexpected turn and you come to realize that Jerome isn't the person you thought he was





	1. Chapter 1

__You worked your way through the crowds as you tried to find somewhere that was less crowded. The sounds of screams and laughter filling your eyes as you squeezed past people. When you nearly tripped over someone, you stumbled over to a small space in between two booths that had just enough space to stand in. You let out a sigh, digging your phone out of your pocket. You rolled your eyes when you noticed that you had no new messages. You checked the time before sliding your phone back into your pocket.  


As you turned around, you noticed that you could shimmy through the gap you were in to get to the other side. You nearly let out a sigh of relief when you saw how little people were on the other side. You walked around for awhile, looking at the many booths offering prizes. You still had some change left so you headed over to one of the booths that appeared to be dart throwing.

”$5 for 5.“

You looked at the guy managing the booth, he looked you up and down, making you feel pretty uncomfortable but you pushed the feeling away as you handed over the money. He placed the darts in front of you and stood back, leaning against the wall of the booth. You picked one up and stood back, starting at the balloons waiting to be popped.

"You ever done this before? I could hop over the counter and show you how it’s done, real nice and personal…” a smirk spread over his face and resisted ‘hopping’ over the counter to hit him.

You steadied your hand and threw the dart with deadly force. You looked at the booth attendant, “I think I’m good…” When he didn’t say a word back, you threw the second dart.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

You looked over your shoulder at the man who was walking over the booth. His eyes moved from his friend and onto you. Your narrowed your own eyes at him as you watched his eyes rack over you.

“Hmm, who’s this?” He smirked, closing the distance between the two of you. He sat down on the counter, giving him the view to stare at you from the front.

You tried to ignore him, moving to throw another dart. His hand grasped your wrist just the dart left your hand. You looked to him, anger the emotion you felt. You pulled back on your arm but he just tugged you closer to him.

“Let me go…” you hissed at him.

“Why are you so up tight?” He laughed. “Maybe you just need help loosening up…” his tongue ran along his lip as he spoke. He looked to his friend and they both nodded to each other in some kind of understanding. You felt sick as you tried to imagine what they were going to do to you. That was when he tugged you forward one final time, his fingers tangling up in your hair that you had foolishly decided to leave down today.

“I said to let me go,” you growled, punching him in the nose and backing away when his grip on you loosened. The other guy had then jumped over the counter and was about to charge towards you when he just froze. His eyes focused on something behind you.

“What are you two doing? Attacking defenceless women again?”

You turned around, matching the voice to the face. The ginger smiled at you as he sunk his hands into the pockets of warm-looking coat.

“Defenceless my ass, look at my face!”

“I warned you to let me go…” you reminded him, your voice filled with pride as the newcomer walked over to you.

“I think you should take your brother and get his nose checked.”

They looked to the ginger and then back to each other. Neither one of them prepared to fight and it didn’t take long for them both to run off. You let out a sigh of relief as you watched them take off.

“Are you alright?” The boy asked you.

When you looked back to him, you couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I think I’m alright. I think the other guy is in worst shape than me.”

He returned your smile and bent down to pick something off of the ground. You watched him as he held out your phone to you. You wasted no time taking it from him and looking it over for damage.

“It must of fallen out of your pocket,” he commented.

“Thank you, uh…” you looked back to him, realizing that you didn’t even know the guys name.

“Jerome,” he held out his hand to you, his green eyes holding your gaze as you felt like you couldn’t look away. You blinked a few times and accepted his extended limb, shaking it gently.

“My name is (Y/n).”

Jerome never took his eyes from you, there was something different about you. He knew that sounded cliche but he didn’t care. His life had been hell for as long as he could remember and it felt like you could be an escape for him. He’d have to remind himself to teach those guys a lesson later.

“So where are your friends? You didn’t come here alone, did you?”

You shook your head, “No, I came with my friends but they just started dating each other so I gave them space.”

Jerome listened to you, noting the bitterness behind your words as you spoke. “Didn’t want to be a third wheel, huh?”

You looked shocked for a moment, caught off guard by him guessing correctly. It wore off quickly and you smiled, “Exactly, I bet their on the top of the Ferris wheel right now, making out or doing whatever young couples do nowadays.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, “Young couples do nowadays? Your not that old, your still young and beautiful, you shouldn’t talk like that.”

You felt your cheeks heating up as he complimented you. “You flatter me too much, circus boy.”

“ _Circus boy,_ huh?” He repeated. You were worried as you waited for him to get mad, but he never did. “Well, would you give this simple _circus boy_ the honor of showing you around?” He did a showy bow and held his hand out to you.

“I’m not sure, what if you’re some kind of secret clown serial killer?” You teased.

You never saw the darkness that leered behind his eyes as he grinned at you. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. I would look terrible in the makeup, besides…” he took your hand into his. 

“What’s life without a little danger, hm?”

* * *

Time flew by faster then you ever thought it could that night. The circus itself had ended hours earlier but you had remained with Jerome as he showed you around. The constant buzzing in your pocket however had alerted you to time. Jerome being the kind young man he was, offered to walk you home.

So here the two of you were, you had your arm looped in with his as you guided him down the quiet streets. Neither of you had spoken a word to each other since you’d stepped off the circus grounds, besides a few directions. Not that the silence was awkward in anyway as the two of you enjoyed each other’s company.

“Won’t your parents be worried about you?” He suddenly asked you.

You shook your head, “Nah, it’s just my foster dad and I. He thinks that my staying over at my friends tonight so he shouldn’t be expecting me.”

“Foster dad, huh?”

You smiled, “A story for another time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

You stopped at the entrance to the apartment building, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as the two of you stood there. Jerome didn’t seem bothered as he smiled, handing you his cell phone. You gave him a curious look before he spoke. “How else am I going to hear that story?”

“I suppose you’re right,” you quickly typed in your number and handed it back to him.

“Well I’ll see you later, (Y/n),” he made a motion to walk away but you reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked back at you with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?”

“How long is the circus in town for?” You asked in a soft voice, your eyes focusing on the ground as your cheeks burned.

“Two more weeks.”

“Can I…come see you again?” You moved your eyes to meet his and he could of sworn you saw him blush.

“Of course.” He nodded, moving closer to you before pressing his lips against your warm cheek. When he pulled back, he had a boyish grin on his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You nodded quickly and watched him as he disappeared from view. You felt like your heart was going to explode from inside your chest. You’d never felt like this about someone but you welcomed the feeling.

* * *

Jerome took his time walking back to the circus. He wasn’t in a hurry to return home to his drunken mother. When he reached the trailer he hesitated for moment as he listened for her. He could hear things getting broken and it sounded like she was yelling at someone. He let out a sigh and moved away from the trailer, deciding to go for a walk around the grounds till the woman either left to be with a different man or passed out, whichever one came first.

He stared up at the sky, his thoughts focused on the girl he’d met tonight. If things went well with her then he’d need to find a way to stay in Gotham after all. He glanced back at the trailer, his eyes full of hatred and rage. He wouldn’t let his so called mother get in the way, not this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two! Were going to delve into the Readers past as she confesses it to Jerome!~

The park was quiet and practically empty. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky causing the trees to cast giant shadows on the ground. You couldn't believe it'd been a week since you'd met Jerome. You walked along the paths with him, your hand being held in his.

"Did your mom yell at you after I left last night?" You suddenly asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had existed between the two of you.

You could feel him tense up a bit and you immediately regretted bringing it up. He never wanted you to meet her and especially not when she was drunk like she'd been last night. She'd seen the two of you walking through the circus grounds, hand in hand. You bitterly assumed that she just didn't like seeing Jerome happy, by the way she had approached the two of you in a fit of rage. You remembered how Jerome had pulled you behind him, telling his mom to calm down and it had taken everything in you not stand up for him against his mother.

"Well you know how mothers are..."

"Jerome..." you stopped dead in your tracks, causing him to stop and look back at you as your eyes met.

He sighed and assured you, "She just yelled, she didn't touch me."

"Good, because I would of went back there and gave her a piece of my mind," you huffed before stepping forward and taking his other hand in yours. "Have you ever thought about leaving?

He looked away for a moment, his thoughts swirling in his head as he contemplated your question. Sure he'd thought of leaving, every time he had to look into his mothers soulless eyes, every time he remembered all the abuse he suffered at her hands, he always wanted to leave. "Honestly, the circus is all I've ever known, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

His pretended he was focused on something off in the distance as he avoided looking in your direction. "Jerome..." you reached up and placed your hand gently on the side of his face, drawing his eyes back to you. "You're a smart guy, you could probably do anything you set your mind to."

"Even murder?" He asked with a deadpan expression.

Your mind went blank and you noticed his lips twitch up into a smirk. You dropped your hand from his face and started laughing. That was something you loved about him, he was always making you laugh. "No! Not murder, don't even joke about that."

His eyebrow raised,"This coming from the girl who joked about me being a killer clown? And it was on the first night we met too, do you always assume people you don't know are serial killers? That's not healthy, y'know."

"Oh shut up," you hit his arm playfully and he just chuckled as he led you over to park bench.

"I am serious, Jerome. You shouldn't have to put up with her abuse." He let out another sigh as you brought up the topic again.

"How did you become so righteous? I've never met anyone like you," He asked, part of him wanted to get off the subject and the other part honestly wanted to know.

"My dad actually, he tries to see the good in everyone before he judges them to be truly damned," you said with a proud smile.

"Your foster-dad?" He guessed.

"Yup," you nodded, "the one and only."

"You never did tell me that long story?" He leaned back into the wooden bench, noticing the way you tensed up as your eyes moved to the ground.

"You don't have to tell me, (Y/n). I'm assuming it's not filled with good memories?"

You shook your head, "No it's not. _But I want to tell you._ " You looked back to him with a soft smile.

You clasped your hands together in front of you, trying to decide how to start. "My parents...my birth parents, worked at Arkham Asylum. Have you heard of it?"

He nodded, "Yeah I always hear parents threatening to send their kids there if they kept misbehaving. Doesn't sound like a place you'd want to end in."

"No it's not, but it was different back then. My father was the director of the asylum, alongside my mother who was one of the many doctors Arkham had employed. They were working with the Wayne family to rebuild the asylum, they wanted it to be a place of true mental healing that could benefit the city's less fortunate. Until a few months ago, it'd been shut down for 15 years."

You paused as you tried to call back memories that you'd fought so hard to forget. "Before the asylum could be re-opened, my parents were violently murdered...I was the one who found them, as cliche as it sounds."

Jerome sat forward, taking your hand back into his own. He had always dreamed of returning home and finding his mother dead, whether it'd been over-dose, alcohol poisoning, or an unfortunate accident. But at this moment, he realized the difference between himself and you. You still suffered at their memory even after all this time. He tried to understand what you were feeling but he couldn’t feel anything, he couldn't understand emotions that he’d never experienced. He had always wanted to know what the love of a parent felt like, love he never received from his mother.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that," He squeezed your hand gently. "Did they ever catch the person who did it?"

You shook your head slowly, trying to hold onto your calm composure. "No they never did and I remember it seeming like nobody had been willing to take the case on...like they were scared what truth might be unearthed if they found the killer."

He raised an eyebrow as he listened to you. "You think there was more going on? An inside job or a conspiracy?" He asked, his thumb running over the top of your knuckles.

"I don't know," you leaned against him, resting your head on his shoulder, refusing to let go of his hand. "I was eight when everything happened but I only spent two years in the orphanage. The Wayne's would stop by from time to time, giving me all kind of gifts which I appreciated but..."

"I imagine it didn't go over well with the other kids?" He guessed correctly.

He felt you shrug before you spoke,"Children can be cruel. I couldn't blame them. But eventually, I met a woman who was always donating money to the orphanage. I guess she took a liking to me and offered to foster me so I could get out of the orphanage. She was young and not exactly the parental figure a ten year-old needed but she tried her best to be strict with me. Even though she was my foster-mother, we acted like best friends over anything else."

He watched you as you smiled at the memory but he could see something lurking under the surface. "So how did this amazing foster-daddy come into the picture?"

You laughed when you heard him say daddy, but quickly regained your composure. "Well, she met him when he was training in the Gotham Police Academy, they hit it off really well and he eventually proposed to her. He always treated me like I was his daughter, right from day one. He was the strict parent I needed and in the end, I chose him over her."

"What do you mean? Why did you have to choose between the two of them?"

"They ended up breaking it off and I chose to stay with him."

"I sorry," he nodded in understanding. "That must of been tough for you."

You shook your head, "not really, I always saw him as a parent and I always saw her as someone who wanted to be my friend, she wasn't ready to have the responsibility of being a parent and I couldn't blame her."

"How did she take it?"

"Not well, I think she felt betrayed by me for awhile but we're alright now I think. I see her every now and then, just when I do, I make sure not to mention my dads new girlfriend."

He chuckled and let go of your hand so he could run his fingers through his red hair. "You weren't kidding when you said it was a long story."

You felt your face heat up in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I really did ramble on a lot, didn't I..."

You felt him tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, his hand tracing it's way to your chin before tilting your face to him, compelling you to look in his direction. His soft gaze relaxed you completely. You released a breath you didn't even know you'd been holding and felt your shoulders relax about four inches. "I like it when you ramble," he admitted before his lips pressed against yours. It was probably the softest kiss someone had ever given you, as if he was being careful not to brake you.

He pulled back, pausing to look into your eyes to gauze your reaction. You hadn't moved from the closeness between the two of you. He leaned in again, kissing you harder this time, his hand tracing the line of your chin this time until he flattened his palm against your cheek.

Your hand moved up his chest, your fingers grasping at the fabric of his shirt before you pulled away. He presses his forehead against yours, letting out a sigh. "I'm going to miss you when we leave next week..."

You felt your eyes widen and you suddenly wrapped your arms around his neck, as if you could loose him at that very moment. "You'll stay in touch with me when you leave, right? You're not just messing around with me?" You asked, whispering the last question.

He smiled at your insecurities and shook his head. If he had his way, he wouldn't be leaving you at all. He'd find a way to stay here by your side. You'd already lost so much, he didn't want to add to it. "No, I'll call you everyday if I have to. So much that you'll get annoyed. I'm a pretty persistent guy, you won't be able to get rid of me easily."

"Good," You laughed and felt like a huge weight had been lifted from your chest. You leaned forward, kissing him for yourself. You let your lips linger for a moment before you pulled back, "because I really like you, Jerome."

Every moment you spent with Jerome was like a dream. The best kind of dream. The kind you woke up from smiling and wishing you could back to sleep just for a few more moments of bliss. And you never wanted it to end.

* * *

You stood on the elevator as it sped past the other floors, only slowing once it had arrived at your floor. You stepped out of it and made your way over to apartment door. When you walked inside, you saw your dad drinking coffee while talking to a woman who stood with him by the counter.

"I'm back," you announced with a smile.

"We weren't expecting you for a another hour or so, how come your home so early?" the woman stated with a smirk.

"Sorry Lee, I don't kiss and tell," you declared proudly, taking off your shoes and jacket.

You watched as your dad practically spit out his coffee, "Kissing! Who the hell are you kissing!?"

"Sorry Dad! I got a paper to write." You ran towards the door to your bedroom, holding back your laughter as you did.

Once you were in the safety of your room, you flopped down onto the bed. A permanent smile etched on your face as you pulled out your phone. The screen lit up as you did and your smile grew as you read the text.

_"I want to see you tonight."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been awhile since I updated this, I actually don’t remember when I finished this chapter but it’s been sitting around waiting to be posted. Sorry this is pretty much a filler chapter.

_“So how have things been at home?”_

You spun the small metal spoon through your coffee, your eyes drifting around the lavish apartment that had been decorated with special care. You wondered how she was able to find the time to keep up with current designs so closely that her apartment never felt out of style. It always had you in awe.

“(Y/n)?”

Your eyes fell on the blonde standing across from you. Her blue eyes focused on you as she leaned against the kitchen island. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?”

She narrowed her eyes playfully so you knew she didn’t mean it. “I asked how things were at home?”

You lifted the spoon from the coffee and popped it in your mouth to make sure it was right. “Jim is taking good care of me, things have been good.”

Barbara nodded slowly before she sighed and looked back down to her own coffee. “And what about her...?”

You felt your body stiffen only slightly and you thought carefully about what you were about to say. “I don’t see her very often anymore,” you lied. “She doesn’t come over as much.”

You watched as a smile appeared on Barbara’s face. You didn’t like lying to her but you also didn’t want her to know the truth. A familiar buzz vibrated from inside your sweater pocket. You quickly pulled it out and saw a new text lighting up the screen. You tried to contain your smile as you typed up a quick reply.

“Who was that?” You heard her ask as you slipped the phone back into your pocket.

You could feel your face heat up as you ran your finger along the handle of your coffee cup. “Just a friend.”

“I’ve got to admit, I’ve never seen you smile like that after a text from any of your other friends.”

You looked up at her, seeing the way she was staring you down as she drank from her cup.

You let out a long sigh, “It’s this guy I met awhile ago...”

“A guy, huh?” Barbara’s face seemed to light up and you knew that she was going to force you into telling her every single detail.

“I’ve managed to keep it a secret from Jim, so if we could keep it between us...” you added in quickly.

“Your secret is safe with me, just as long as you tell me all the little details.”

* * *

It was late at night when you finally managed to convince Barbara to let you leave. You had told her that you were going home but that was a lie. As soon as you left her apartment, you headed straight to the little circus you’d been spending so much of your time at.

“Rough night, again?” You asked as your fingers hovered over a bruise forming along the side of the gingers face.

His face remained stoic as you sat together on the bleachers. It was dark in the tent, the dim lighting creating shadows that danced along the inside of the tent.

“I’m sorry, I know that you probably don’t want to talk about it...” you sighed, finally breaking the silence that had been created between the two of you. His eyes moved over you for moment before they returned to the circus performers who were practicing in the middle of the tent.

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, I just...I don’t want to waste any time I have with you, thinking about that woman.” You felt his arm wrap around your waist for a moment, pulling you closer to him.

You smiled softly, allowing yourself to cuddle against him. “My dad noticed that I’ve been staying out a lot lately,” you admitted.

“Oh? And does the great detective have any idea that his daughter is seeing a boy from the circus?”

“Seeing? Is that what we’re doing?” You teased.

He hummed for a moment as he took your hand in his, allowing your fingers to be locked in with your own, before he nodded.“I think that’s exactly what we’re doing.” His eyes met yours and for a moment, you could of sworn you saw something dark and somewhat dangerous hiding behind his green orbs. He noticed the way you were searching his expression and he leaned down to press a kiss against your cheek. “Does he know?”

“I think he might have an idea that I’m dating someone but I’m not sure. I’m going for dinner with him and his girlfriend tomorrow night, every time he takes me out for dinner it turns into a interrogation.”

“Are you going to tell him?” He suddenly asked.

“I just might,” you teased, poking his chest with your finger. “But I have to admit, I enjoy having you as my little secret.”

He leaned down, pecking you quickly on the lips before kissing you fully. You relished in the moment, wishing he would never pull away until he eventually did. “I’m going to miss you when we leave...”

“I wish you could stay, I truly do...” you admitted.

“ _Maybe there’s a way that I can..._ ” he whispered, quiet enough that you didn’t pick up on it.

* * *

“‘The Flying Graysons’ is in town, isn’t it?”

“Yeah they’ve been here about a week or so,” you quickly responded as your eyes swept over the faces of the many other restaurant goers.

“Was that the circus you went to, (Y/n)?” Lee asked as she delicately picked at her food.

You nodded, “Yeah, the one my friends dragged me to.”

You noticed the way Jim’s brow raised when you mentioned being dragged there by friends. ”How was it?” He decided to ask.

“It was pretty good, you should take Lee there. I think the two of you would enjoy it.”

“Maybe,” Jim shrugged, taking a big drink of water.

Lee rose from her seat, “Im just going to the restroom, I’ll be right back.”

You nodded, loving the warm smile she gave you both before she walked away. “Things must be going well between you two?”

“They are, actually.” He leaned forward so he could rest his elbows on the table. “So, you never told me that you met up with Barbara.”

You bit at your lip, cursing yourself for forgetting. “Sorry,” you apologized. “I forgot to tell you that I went over to her place a few days ago...”

He nodded slowly, “I’m not angry with you, (Y/n). You’re not a child anymore, you don’t have to disclose everything you do to me,” you were first put off by his gruff tone but he suddenly smiled at you, taking away any fears you had.

“Well regardless, it’s not something I feel like I have to hide from you. And before you feel the need to ask, she _did_ ask about you...and Lee.”

He sighed, leaning back into his chair before crossing his arms over his chest. “Of course she did.”

“I didn’t tell her any details or anything...” you added, somewhat sitting back further in your chair. “What happens between the two of you has nothing to do with her.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. Really,” he smiled warmly. “So, there was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about...”

“I figured,” you replied quickly, propping an elbow up on the table. “Go ahead.”

“Lee and I have been noticing that you’ve been...well you’ve been acting differently.” You noticed the way his eyes moved around the room as he tried to find a way to word what he was about to ask.

“Yes, it’s a guy,” you assured him, beating him to the question. “For about a week now, actually.”

“A guy, huh?”

_“Yeah, a guy._


End file.
